Overheard at the cafe, “I found an ATM, but I had to take out $50. That really sucked.”
At first I was confused…then it hit me. I remember when I’d check my account balance online before making a withdrawal. Even $20 might cause me to overdraw my account.
Now when I use the ATM I take out however much I want without even looking at my balance.
In fact I have more money than I know what to do with, but that wasn’t always the case.
Like most people I sat around waiting for someone to give me a shot to earn money.
Like most people I felt:
- anxious, worrying if I’d have enough money to pay my bills,
- dependent, hoping my boss would pay me on time,
- hopeless, wondering if I’d ever do more than just barely get by.
Those days are in the past for me, and I want them to become ancient history for you.
Not knowing how to make money or find a job or start a business (where I began) is horrifying.
One skill I’ll teach my kids from the get-go is how to make their own money without needing to find a job. Yet nearly every book about starting a business is worthless.
Get back to basics. What does it mean to own a business? A business is “an organization or economic system where goods and services are exchanged for one another or for money.”
How do you own a business? Start by working for yourself.
The simplest way to start a business.
Do freelance work.
Guys email me asking complicated legal questions such as, “Should I form a corporation or an LLC?” These are good kids, but they just don’t get it, as no one told them the truth.
None of that bullshit matters until you’re making money. No one sues businesses that don’t earn a tidy profit. (In legal parlance, this is called being judgment proof. Even if someone sued you – and won – there wouldn’t be a way to collect on the judgement.)
Unless your business is earning at least six figures in profit, none of that bullshit like incorporation or profit sharing or management structure matters.
You must find a way to start making money, and the easiest way to start earning money is by working for yourself.
There are about a million ways to do freelance work. There are entire websites where people exchange their labor for short-term, freelance work.
If you do freelance work, you’ll learn every necessary business skill:
- how to find clients,
- how to get noticed,
- time management,
- ROI on ad buys/time spent on marketing,
- when to fire clients,
- salesmanship.
If you’re too lazy to do freelance work, you’ll never run a real business. If you think you’re “above” doing “menial” work, you’ll never run a successful business.
When you own your own business, no job is beneath you. As one gym owner explained, “If you think owning a gym mean you’ll never have to clean a toilet because you can’t have piss on your toilet seats, good luck with staying open.”
Every task I perform at Danger & Play is one many of you think you’re above doing as free lance workers. “I’m too good to do that.” Fine. Stay broke.
How can you live rich if you aren’t rich?
(How much money do you need to be happy?)
It occurred to me that I seem to have more money than I actually do. Here’s why: I own at most $5,000 worth of stuff, and most of that is related to making my living (laptops, cameras, smart phone). I don’t buy much.
I only need to own my laptop and smart phone total and some clothes. When you don’t own material goods or fancy clothes or watches or have cable TV or even a TV at all…that stuff adds up and takes away the ability to travel, have nice meals, etc.
My lifestyle is essentially one a single man earning mid five figures (without kids) could sustain.
I used to think I wanted to be rich, but happiness is a nice consolation prize. You only need to earn $60,000 (give or take) to be happy.
Go a day without buying anything.
(Not even food; fast for 24 hours.)
For most, this is hard as we really aren’t conscious of how often we shop and how much we buy. Going on a spending fast would be my #1 personal finance tip.
Go a day without buying anything. You’ll be surprised how much you spend. It’s just not something we are conscious of. It adds up.
Obvious (in hindsight) but unconventional money tips.
Never buy status.
Name brand clothing, logos, and fancy watches are out. (Read: Status is Slavery.)
Now of course there are some exceptions. If I played the law game, I’d own a Rolex to status signal my success to potential clients. You can also buy replica Rolex watches, although that’s technically illegal to do in the U.S.
Yet that’s not what most of us do. We buy nice watches and name-brand clothing to signal to women that we have resources.
(How many hot escorts could you buy with the money you spent on a Rolex? Bonus: Hookers leave after you pay them, were as the women impressed with your jewelry wait around long enough to sue you for alimony.)
Or maybe you want other men to know how cool and successful you are. If you’re gay, that’s cool. If you’re not gay…Why do you care what other men think about you?
Buy experiences, not things.
We’ve all heard this one already. How many people apply it? When is the last time you got a great massage? Most of the time people say, “That’s too expensive!”
Those same people who won’t spend $50 on a massage will then go out to buy a $5,000 television. How does that make any sense?
I threw away several thousands of dollars worth of gadgets and god knows what else before choosing to travel the world. I don’t remember what I threw away, but I do remember those trips I’ve taken.
Max out your looks.
Spending money on skincare products, proper grooming, and properly-fitting clothing is an investment in yourself.
The halo effect is real. Better looking people earn more money, make more sales, and are treated with more respect.
People are judgmental.
In theory Gorilla Mindset should stand or fall on its own merits, but people want to know about the author. Even though I don’t earn my living with my body, I keep “fit” enough to at least look like my life is together. If I were a fat slob who would buy Gorilla Mindset?
Make the most out of your body.
A nice body looks better in any clothing. If you have a nice body you can also get by wearing $10 Henley’s from H&M.
Gym memberships, healthy food, and supplements that actually work are not optional. They are essential to your money-making activities.
Keep your wardrobe to a minimum.
Each day you should look good, not necessarily different.
I only have 5 or so shirts. I look good in all of them.
- What if a girl says, “You always wear that shirt?” Now you know she wants you. Why else would she have noticed? Flip the script, “Someone pays a lot of attention to me….”
Credit card sky miles.
If you have good credit and pay your balance in full, learn how to fly for free using sky miles.
I get a new credit card every few months. I max the card out, get a nice bonus, and fly all over the place for free. I’ve flown to NYC from LA first class, and been back and forth from LA to Vegas, Miami, and New York.
There are great websites explaining the sky mile process, but don’t get sucked into the cult. Find a good card with a sign-on bonus. Spend enough to get the bonus, and then move on to the next card.
Buy books. (These are 10 books men should read.)
This should be obvious. Yet it’s not.
Guys who run up bar tabs and spend money on Starbucks are cheap when it comes to books and other forms of education.
Or they spend hours on torrent sites trying to scam a book that you should be able to afford buying by working a few minutes.
You only need to get one good idea from a book to have a 10x or even 100x ROI.
These three books will change your financial life.
Yet how does your book budget compare to your bar budget…
ROI. Everything is ROI.
How are you spending your time and your money? What is the return on your time and money spent?
A lot of you guys go out to meet women, so riddle me this: Which has a higher ROI – tipping big or bottle service?
If you tip 30% at a bar where you’re a local, you’ll get inside tips on house parties, free drinks, and people will like you. Bar tenders and waitresses end up single and looking for a rebound. Tipping big is a long-term investment as well, as you’ll return to the nearby establishment.
Bottle service is one-and-done. Maybe you’ll get laid once. Maybe you’ll get a threesome. But that’s it.
In fact, you could get more sex by renting a cool house on Air BnB to have an afterparty at. Get some coke and invite some ladies over…from the tables other people have paid for.
Geo arbitrage/lawful tax avoidance.
If you can earn your living outside of the U.S., leave. The dollar is strong relative to the Euro. You also won’t have to pay taxes on your first $106,000 in income. (Read more: Tax Planning for Self-Employed Americans.)
By leaving the U.S I’ve receive a $30,000 a year raise for doing the same amount of work.
I also get a higher ROI, as my dollar delivers more value in Thailand, Vietnam, Hungary, and even Paris than in the U.S.
The two most controversial money tips?
Do not buy a home.
James Altucher explains why home ownership is a scam here. There’s no need for me to repeat his arguments.
Do not go to college or send your kids to college.
Men who attend college are likely to be falsely accused of rape, acquire a massive amount of debt that can’t be discharged in bankruptcy, and will be brainwashed. College sucks. Don’t go.
Are you worth an hour a day?
Charlie Munger is a billionaire friend and business partner to Warren Buffet, who is the world’s richest man. What is Munger’s secret to wealth?
Charlie, as a very young lawyer, was probably getting $20 an hour. He thought to himself, ‘Who’s my most valuable client?’ And he decided it was himself. So he decided to sell himself an hour each day. He did it early in the morning, working on these construction projects and real estate deals. Everybody should do this, be the client, and then work for other people, too, and sell yourself an hour a day.
Charlie Munger’s message to you, “Give yourself an hour a day.”
These tips may seem basic.
Why do people have money problems?
Get your money mindset in order. For more tips on making money, read Gorilla Mindset.
